RIP
by Crimson Seale
Summary: Sequel to Time and the Final Frontier. I decide to go to the movies to see the new installment of the Star Trek reboots. It is there that I see the death of a character I love and fear strikes that it may have killed him in the parallel universe I visited a year ago. I need to get back to make sure he's alright. But first, I must find the Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

I stumbled my way up the stairs, following the others as closely as possible. I cringed as a heavy step caused a single pop of corn to fall to the ground. I had decided to splurge on the buttery goodness in a bucket, but now it was going to waste. What luck!

The others settled into their seats and I took the second to last one on the row. Evan would be emerging from the bathroom at any moment and I wanted to be sure he had to sit next to me.

The day had finally come: the release of the third Star Trek reboot movie. I was excited to see it with all of my friends. I hadn't watched much of the new movies or the TV show since visiting the parallel universe about a year earlier. Not long after that trip, the Doctor dropped me off for the last time. Well...he hadn't been back yet and I was starting to wonder if my hopes of him turning up were going to waste.

My thoughts were interrupted by Evan as he plopped into the seat next to me and dipped his hand into my popcorn.

"I still don't get why you like this franchise so much," he said for the millionth time since getting to the theater. "It's washed up. Boring. All lens flare, no plot."

I rolled my eyes and tossed a fluff of corn into my mouth. "I like the TV show. I watch these movies in the hopes that one day one of them will turn out okay," I said between chews. "They can be interesting if you let yourself ignore the lens flares and enjoy i-"

"Hey, Evan! I saved a seat for you!"

I looked to where the voice had come from. Down the row of our group of movie goers was Cathryn. That girl had been hitting the flirting game hard ever since she found out I liked Ev. She wouldn't stop and I hated every moment her face was in my field of vision. Overdone eyeliner, long brown curls, extremely low cut tops; it was sickening. Still, she was every guy's dream and I worried constantly that my lack of pursuing would let Ev slip into her clutches from which few guys ever returned unscathed.

"Nah, I'm good," Ev shouted back.

I let myself smile this time. More and more, he had been blatantly turning her down and I loved it.

There wasn't much time to gloat because at that moment, the lights went down and the movie started. It was classic Orci writing from the start. I silently laughed at the special effects and ridiculous predicaments that the real Enterprise crew would never find themselves in. More laughs pushed themselves through my lips when I realized that I could say that with confidence since I had actually met the real Enterprise crew.

In addition to my own internal monologue, Ev kept leaning over to whisper some comment, most of which were too good to not write down. I always made sure to keep some paper and a writing utensil around when we hung out together. I kept telling him I would compile all of his best quips into a book one day and his wit would make him a millionaire.

Toward the end though, things got really serious. The crew had come in contact with some alien disease in what used to be a palladium mine. While in the mine, Chekov, precious baby that he is, had decided to take his protective glove off to examine a particularly strange looking rock. I kept mentally screaming, telling him not to, but for some reason he had to according the crappy writers. As a result, he was now writhing in pain in the sick bay. Bones was doing all he could to quell his feverish state and find a cure at the same time. But then the camera zoomed in on Pavel's face. Sweat dripped from his brow in copious amounts. His eyes were clenched shut as he tried his best to drive away the pain coursing through his veins. It was heart wrenching to watch.

"Keptin," he croaked. "Keptin Kirk."

He reached for Kirk as the captain drew near. Bones had insisted that anyone that came to see him wore a protective quarantine suit like the medical staff, so it was a gloved hand that Kirk extended to the ensign.

"I'm here, Chekov," Kirk said, voice shaking.

"Keptin," Chekov repeated. "I need you to do somesing for me."

"Anything, Chekov. Just tell me."

I realized at those words that this was a death scene, or a near death scene, and started to become angry.

"Keptin," Chekov continued, his words coming short and breathy. His eyes were open now and the camera focused on them when he spoke. "Pleaze, Keptin, if she ewer comes back, tell her I lowe her. Vill you tell her?"

Kirk, choking back tears, nodded in response. As he did, Bones came back from the lab and motioned for him to come aside. Kirk left Chekov with Spock and Sulu, moving toward Bones near the door to the lab.

"Tell me you can save him, Bones."

"I'm sorry, Jim. I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker. I've done all I can. I think the best thing to do now would be to put him out of his misery."

_Here comes the man pain_, I thought.

"Bones, we can't..."

"It's this or let him suffer until he dies." Bones' tone was extremely sharp. His eyes were red-rimmed and glistening. "It's your call, Jim. But as a doctor, this is my recommendation."

Kirk looked over his shoulder to see Chekov writhing against the sickness again. The sight pulled a tear from the corners of his baby blue eyes. He turned back to Bones and nodded his assent. They parted, Bones to retrieve a syringe of euthanasia, Kirk to join Spock and Sulu at Chekov's bedside. A few moments passed and Bones emerged from the lab.

"Alright, Chekov," he said, lowering the needle. "This should make you feel a lot better. Just relax and let it do its thing."

A press of the button, and the drug was in Chekov's veins. It would only be a matter of minutes before he would close his eyes for the last time.

The dying young man reached for Kirk again. "Promise me, Keptin."

"I promise, Mr. Chekov."

Chekov nodded and the camera changed to an overhead shot of the table, focusing in on Pavel's red face. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. With the breath came the words, "I lowe you..." and then he was gone.

I was fuming. How could they kill him off?! Why? He didn't deserve this! This was just get an emotional response and I hated it. I prayed that this didn't affect what was happening in their universe.

I tensed as I felt a body move next to me. It was Ev, leaning in to make another comment.

"I didn't know the kid had a girlfriend, did you?" A short chuckle followed.

The next twenty minutes were full of Kirk and Spock trying to find and kill the villain to avenge Chekov's death because it was their reasoning that he exposed the crew to the disease on purpose. Again, really bad writing. But I couldn't even focus on the gaping plot holes. All I could think about was how I should have been there, that I needed to get there somehow, as soon as possible. Suddenly, nothing else mattered, not Ev, not Cathryn and her boobs, not the ending of this movie, not anything. I just needed to get out of there and find a way back to the Enterprise. But how? The Doctor never came around anymore. How could I get there without the TARDIS? I had to find the Doctor first, and how do you find a man who could be anywhere in all of time and space?

As soon as the credits began to roll, I pushed past Ev and ran outside the theater, reaching for my phone. For all intents and purposes, the TARDIS was a police box, so I figured the best way to start looking for it would be calling 911.


	2. Chapter 2

It was cold outside the theater. Sure it was technically summer, but the nights were really chill. The screen of my phone was warm from my pocket and I relished the feel of it on my cheek.

"911. What's your emergency?"

"Hi," I started slowly. "I don't actually have an emergency. I just was wondering if you would know how to connect me to the police in England. It's urgent."

Her voice sounded drone now, knowing that there was no imminent threat to human life. "I can connect you to the operator. They'll be able to transfer your call from there. Hang on one sec..."

I heard a few beeps while she made the specific adjustments to get me connected to the operator. The wind began to blow during the interim, so I pulled my jacket closed while I waited. In a moment, the sound of ringing met my ear. After one ring, the operator picked.

"Operator. How may I direct your call?"

"Yes, hi. Can you connect me to the London police department?"

"It will cost you international fees."

"I understand. Please, it's urgent."

A few moments of silence followed before I heard ringing again. It rang more than once and with each sound, I bit my lip harder, praying that this would work. Finally, someone picked up.

"This is the Metropolitan Police Service. How may I direct your call?"

I stopped and thought a moment. Would it be reasonable to ask them to simply connect me to "the Doctor", or would they think I was crazy? Maybe I should ask for Scotland Yard or maybe even UNIT? I began to break down trying to think of something to say.

"'Allo? Are you still there?"

In a panic, I blurted the first thing to come to mind.

"Could you please connect me to UNIT headquarters? I need to speak with Kate Stewart. It's urgent."

The man on the other end of the line hesitated. "I-I'm sorry. There is no UNIT division in the Service. I don't..."

"Look, I understand that UNIT is a top secret division of the British government, but this is important. I need to speak with Ms. Stewart about a mutual friend of ours. You may have heard of him. He's called the Doctor."

There was a sharp breath taken at the mention of the Doctor. "Hold on."

Again, waiting in relative silence until the call was forwarded to another line. The movie-goers were starting to spill out of the front doors. I plugged my free ear to listen for the sound of ringing as people came rushing past me. One of them bumped into me, nearly knocking my phone out of my hand. I turned to find Ev standing there, smiling.

"Why'd you leave so quickly? You missed the secret ending."

The other end picked up and I held up a finger to shush Ev.

"Hey-" he started, but I shook my hand at him.

"Hello? Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"Miss Stewart?" I nearly shouted.

"This is she. Again, I ask who is this?"

"Ma'am, you don't know me. I was at your base one time about a year ago. I saw you, but we were never introduced. I'm a friend of the Doctor's. I seem to have lost him and I need to find him. I was hoping you might have some way of contacting him."

"Really," she chuckled. "You're a friend of his? Then you know how difficult it is to get hold of him. Even you, 'a friend', don't have a way of contact. The Doctor dislikes UNIT and what we stand for, so why would he give us his number before he gave it to you?"

"Please, Miss Stewart. Check your contact list. Look under the T's for 'Telephone Box' or 'TARDIS' or something. There might be something there."

There was a heavy sigh and the sound of a keyboard clacking. "Alright, I'm looking. But I can't say that anything is there. The last time I checked we had no way to call him. I've tried time and again but nothing has seemed to wor-"

Her words were cut short.

"Miss Stewart? Are you still there?"

"Well, if I never... There is an entry here titled 'Telephone' and the subscript says 'Box'. How on earth did that get in her-"

"That should be it! Would you send the number to me, please? It may not work anymore, but it's worth a shot."

"I suppose I can if you really need to contact him. There's no telling where he is right now so he may not even answer. I'll let you give it a go, though."

A message beeped on my phone, a text containing the number from Kate's contact list. I looked it over, feeling my unquenchable hope building, then returned to the call.

"Thank you, Miss Stewart. I'll let you know if I get through or not."

"You're welcome."

I hit "End" and was about to call the new number when I felt Ev's presence looming nearby again. He was standing quietly, hands in pockets, waiting for my call to be over.

"Ev, I'm sorry. Something's come up. I need to-"

"It's alright," he interrupted. "I'll be in the car when you're ready to go."

With that, he left me to do my calling. I smiled as he walked away. He was so understanding.

But back to business. I tapped the highlighted string of numbers and placed the phone back up to my ear, moving farther away from the exiting crowd. It rang and rang. It rang forever. I was giving up when finally, someone picked up.

"Yes, hello. You've reached the Pizza Fanclub Hotline or the TARDIS. Don't know which one. You tell me who you'd like to talk to; the Pizza Fanclub Chairman or the Doctor."

It was strange. His voice didn't sound the same as it had the last time I saw him. It sounded...younger, more English, less Scottish. Maybe he had set up an answering machine for the TARDIS?

"I'd like to speak with the Doctor, please."

"This is the Doctor. How can I help you?"

The voice didn't change. This couldn't be the Doctor. But who else knew about the TARDIS? And who else would pretend to be a Pizza Fanclub Chairman?

"Doctor?" I hesitated. "It's been a while, but it...it's me. It's Kristen."

"Kristen...Kristen...why does that name sound so familiar...?"

I swallowed hard at hearing that. He had forgotten me? Already? Was I not important to him?

"Wait! I've got it! You're Sputnik, right? Sorry, I kind of changed heads since we last talked and so some of my memories are a little jumbled. YES! Hello! It's been ages. What have you been up to?"

"Trying to find you," I laughed. "You sound different. Is everything alright?"

"Dandy! Well, I'm trying to outrun a group of crazed Halberings in the TARDIS, but other than that, dandy!"

It was now that I heard the sound of the TARDIS whirring through space and the levers and switches on the console being pressed and pulled. It was now that I remembered how much I missed those sounds for the first few weeks after returning home.

"Doctor, I know you're busy right now, but when you have a moment, could you come see me? I need to talk to you...in person. I'm at the theater on the 64." I looked at my phone for the other details I need to give him. "Date is the 17th of May, 2016. Time is 2:18am."

"2:18am? What are you doing out so late?"

"Midnight showing. Just get here, will you?" I laughed.

"Will do. See you in a few seconds."

The call was ended and within moments, I heard the screeching of the TARDIS around the corner. I ran to find the box materializing. I was so happy to see it again. But, it looked different. Something was definitely off with the whole Doctor thing. His voice had changed and the TARDIS had changed. And when the doors flung open and a man stepped out, I saw that even his face had changed. Everything had changed.


End file.
